June 09, 2017

#HokeyStorm Day 6: Texas Panhandle Recap, End of Chase

Thursday was our last day of storm chasing as storm formation will be squelched by high pressure moving in. Thursday had to be a good chase day. Thursday had to be our grand finale. Thursday delivered.

We drove from Limon, Colorado to near Morse, Texas on Thursday to pursue one of two developing storms (upper right storm on radar image) in the Texas Panhandle. The drive was longer than we thought it would be since we thought we could stay in Colorado to find good storms. It turns out capping (warm air aloft) was too aggressive in Colorado for decent storm formation, so we kept having to push all the way south to Texas.

This high-based severe storm in Hanford County, Texas made for a great chase Thursday evening as it moved south around 15-30 mph. The explosive updraft and smooth updraft base were a sight to behold. A lack of wind shear and deeper moisture prevented a tornado threat with this storm, but as we always say out here, you don't need a (non-destructive) tornado to have a good chase! Check out the video below for a sample of what we saw before sunset on Thursday.

It's been a great chase this week with 13 other folks from all over the world. Our two large vans were filled with some of the nicest people from the US and the UK and made it a real pleasure to be out for my 10th season with Storm Chasing Adventure Tours. While storm conditions this week were very marginal thanks to weak winds aloft and a lack of really deep moisture, we made the most of it and found the best storms in each setup. We wouldn't have had it any other way! Here's to another season of learning, experience, and comradery next year. Look for a story about my week-long storm chase on WAVE 3 News within a few weeks!